By JOHN GEOGHEGAN
Political reporter
AN OPPOSITION councillor has attacked council bosses for “bending over backwards” to help Southend Airport.
Lib Dem Peter Wexham spoke out at a meeting as plans to give up 12 acres of St Laurence park for a new link road were approved.
Southend Airport wants to build the road, between Eastwoodbury Lane and Nestuda Way, to allow for the extension of its runway by 300m.
A meeting of all 51 Southend councillors was called specially to discuss the issue, following the economic and environmental scrutiny committee which met before-hand.
Council leader Nigel Holdcroft (Con, West Leigh) said: “The airport is anxious to start work as soon as possible. Therefore, we have scheduled this short meeting.” [...confirming that the Council was indeed bending over backwards to help the airport.]
Mr Wexham (Lib Dem, Leigh), who voted against the plans, said the meetings had been rushed through.
He said: “It seems we have spent a lot of money on officer time and getting everybody here to rush this through.
“We did it back in November and are doing it again now.
“It’s only a couple of weeks to wait for the next scrutiny meeting. Whatever the airport says, we do.
“The airport says ‘jump,’ we say ‘how high?’ It’s all for the airport, nothing for the residents.”
Brian Kelly (Con, Southchurch) said: “The real reason for doing this is to improve the employment prospects and prosperity of the town. Those are enough good reasons.” […having ignored increased noise, pollution, climate change gas emissions, oil prices and traffic and the end of commercially extractable oil within the next two decades.]
The council plans to build the link road regardless of whether the runway extension, facing two judicial review applications, goes ahead or not.
As well as giving up part of the park, it will involve moving a children’s playground, swapping a corner of the Royal Bank of Scotland car park for open land and adding a nearby meadow to the park.
The council’s report for the meeting also looked at the objections 19 residents raised against the plans.
Mr Wexham said officers had “rubbished” all the objections.
Mr Holdcroft replied: “It doesn’t rubbish anything. We have looked very carefully at each and every one in detail. […before even more carefully totally ignoring them]
“The officers’ view was that there was no valid reason not to go ahead with the scheme.”